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Washington DC hosts many monuments built in tribute to some of the country’s greatest leaders. The Lincoln Memorial is one such structure. The National Park Service administers the memorial and I have reprinted the brief history they post on their website at http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/travel/wash/dc71.htm.

Once you have read this, scroll down to see some images of approved conceptual drawings, photographs of the memorial and surrounding grounds under construction and the May 30, 1922 Dedication Ceremonies. Enjoy.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL (reprinted from the National Park Service website)

The Lincoln Memorial stands at the west end of the National Mall as a neoclassical monument to the 16th President. The memorial, designed by Henry Bacon, after ancient Greek temples, stands 190 feet long, 119 feet wide, and almost 100 feet high. It is surrounded by a peristyle of 38 fluted Doric columns, one for each of the thirty six states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death, and two columns in-antis at the entrance behind the colonnade. The north and south side chambers contain carved inscriptions of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and his Gettysburg Address. Lying between the north and south chambers is the central hall containing the solitary figure of Lincoln sitting in contemplation. The statue was carved in four years by the Piccirilli brothers under the supervision of the sculptor, Daniel Chester French. The statue of Lincoln is 19 feet high and weighs 175 tons. The original plan was for the statue to be only ten feet high, but this was changed so that the figure of Lincoln would not be dwarfed by the size of the chamber. A commission to plan a monument was first proposed in 1867, shortly after Lincoln’s death. The design for that plan called for six equestrian and 31 pedestrian statues of colossal size, with a 12-foot statue of Lincoln in the center. That project was never started for lack of funds. Congress approved the bill to construct this memorial in 1910. Construction began in 1914, and the memorial was opened to the public in 1922. The Memorial is visited by millions of visitors each year and is the site of many large public gatherings and protests. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech to a crowd by the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 . Damaged over the years by heavy visitation and environmental factors, the Lincoln Memorial is currently undergoing a major restoration.

CONCEPTUAL DRAWINGS

A conceptual drawing from architect Henry Bacon's approved proposal for the Lincoln Memorial

Statue sculptor Daniel Chester French's approved 1/8" scale drawing of the 19'-0" high statue of Lincoln from late November, 1917

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CONSTRUCTION OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL AND SURROUNDING GROUNDS

On February 12, 1914 the Ground Breaking Ceremony took place. Within a year of that event, the foundation and base structure were quickly taking form.

The foundation construction moving along in January, 1915.

Another view of the foundation construction from January 1915.

One year after the Ground Breaking ceremonies, the foundation was ready to receive the first cornerstone of the memorial. It was laid in place on Lincoln’s birthday February 12, 1915.

Laying the cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial on Lincoln's birthday, February 12, 1915.

The next step was to build the cella (inner chamber of the memorial). This began to take shape by early 1916. It still did not have its now recognizable marble colonnade surrounding it.

By late 1916-17 the Doric colonnade and outer structure began to appear. When completed, the final size of the Memorial would be 201 feet 10 inches wide x 132 feet deep x 79 feet 10 inches high above the foundation.

The colonnade and roof structure being constructed (c1916-17). The Washington Monument can be seen at lower left.

Thirty-six fluted columns (each representing a state in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death) plus two at the entrance each measure 7 feet 5 inches in diameter. The height of each column from floor to ceiling is 44 feet. Each column has 20 flutes.

The foundation of the Lincoln Memorial carries an estimated weight of about 38,000 tons of granite and marble. The colonnade and frieze are being worked on in this photo.

The large cranes have now been removed as the roof is now completed. Work on the outer structure still continues.

The main cranes which towered over the structure were removed once the roof was completed.

The carvings on the exterior of the Lincoln Memorial were done by Washington D.C. sculptor, Ernest C. Bairstow. These carvings included eagles, festoons, wreathes and the states.

A close up of a carving on the frieze by architectural sculptor Ernest C. Bairstow.

Where Henry Bacon was the architect who designed the Lincoln Memorial, several sculptors and artists were responsible for the statues and carvings found throughout the building. Ernest C. Bairstow was a Washington D.C. architectural sculptor who was brought on to do the exterior carvings which included eagles, states, festoons and wreathes. He also did the carved letters on the interior.

Daniel Chester French from Massachusetts was the sculptor who designed the 19 foot seated statue of Abraham Lincoln inside the Memorial. He, along with the Piccirilli Brother studio from Brooklyn, NY created the Lincoln statue from 28 blocks of white Georgia marble.

The Piccirilli family and Daniel Chester French work on the assembly of the Lincoln statue.

Royal Cotissoz was the New York Herald Tribune art critic who wrote the copy carved behind and above the Lincoln statue. The words read “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” The carving of the words for this, and the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address on the flanking walls were carved by Ernest C. Bairstow.

Evelyn Beatrice Longman was a student of Daniel Chester French and was responsible for the interior decorative carvings surrounding the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address.

Two large canvas murals grace the walls of the interior. The themes are Emancipation and Unity. These were done by Jules Guerin. Each are 60 feet long x 12 feet high and weight about 600 lbs.

The completed statue of Lincoln (c1943) with Mr. Royal Cotissoz's inscription above. The inscription was carved by Ernest C. Bairstow.

The grounds of the Lincoln Memorial slowly took shape. The Reflecting Pool does not exist as of yet.

Construction on the marshlands dedicated for the Lincoln Memorial slowly take shape. The Reflecting Pool doesn't exist at this point and the area is used to hold materials and construction sheds.

Work well underway on the steps and surrounding exterior elements on the site. The steps lead down to the Reflecting Pool which currently hasn't been built yet.

The Reflecting Pool

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THE DEDICATION CEREMONIES – MAY 30, 1922

The Dedication Ceremonies for the Lincoln Memorial were held on Tuesday, May 30, 1922. To begin, Dr. Robert Moton presented the keynote address. Dr. Moton was the second president of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama who had succeeded Booker T. Washington as president of the institute. Chief Justice William Howard Taft officially turned over the memorial to President Warren Harding who received it on behalf of the people of the United States. President Harding then spoke to the crowd. To conclude the ceremonies, Poet Edwin Markham read a revised version of his poem “Lincoln the Man of the People” . Robert Lincoln, who did not speak on this occasion, was a special guest and received a loud ovation from the crowd upon his arrival.

In attendance, but also not presenting were Vice President Calvin Coolidge (who would later become the 30th President of the United States), and Alice Roosevelt Longworth (Theodore Roosevelt’s eldest daughter).

The crowd gathered for the Lincoln Memorial Dedication Ceremonies on May 30, 1922.

Special guest Robert Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln's eldest son) arrives at the Dedication Ceremonies. The crowd gave him a loud ovation.

Chief Justice (and former President) William H. Taft, President Warren Harding and Robert Todd Lincoln.

Robert Lincoln took an active interest in the Lincoln Memorial while under construction. He often had his driver pass by to view it. On at least one occasion he obtained permission to enter the building during construction.

A view of the proceedings from the side of the Reflecting Pool.

Chief Justice Taft officially turns over the Lincoln Memorial to President Warren Harding who receives it on behalf of the people of the United States. Robert Lincoln looks on (seated lower left).

President Harding overlooks the crowd surrounding the Reflecting Pool.

The presenters are dwarfed by the Lincoln Memorial's massive marble columns.

Poet Edwin Markham reads a verse from his revised poem "Lincoln the Man of the People" to conclude the Dedication Ceremonies. Behind him sits Vice President Calvin Coolidge, President Warren Harding and Chief Justice William Howard Taft.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth (daughter of Teddy Roosevelt)(right) departs at the conclusion of the ceremonies.

[…] A Little Touch of History created an interesting post today on The Lincoln Memorial: Construction & Dedication PhotographsHere’s a short outline March 20, 2009: Barry Cauchon The Lincoln Memorial built between 1914 and 1922. Washington DC hosts many monuments built in tribute to some of the country’s greatest leaders. The Lincoln Memorial is one such structure. The National Park Service administers the memorial and I have reprinted the brief history they post on their website at http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/travel/wash/dc71.htm . Once you have read this, scroll down to see some images of approved conceptual drawings, phot […]

[…] Elveyweb.com created an interesting post today on The Lincoln Memorial: Construction Dedication PhotographsHere’s a short outline March 20, 2009: Barry Cauchon The Lincoln Memorial built between 1914 and 1922. Washington DC hosts many monuments built in tribute to some of the […]

I HAVE A QUESTION. YOU HAVE A PICTURE POSTED LABLED”he cella or inner chamber of the memorial rises (c1916″ ARE YOU 100% SURE THAT IS THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL?, IF SOI AM WRITING A BOOK AND WOULD NEED THE SOURCE FOR THAT PICTURE.

Hi Nick: I believe the photo is from the Lincoln Memorial being constructed in 1916 but I will go back and check the site. Sometimes they are wrongly identified. That particular photo came from the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs website. However, you can also see a very good series of photographs of the Lincoln Memorial being constructed on the National Park Service site under Lincoln Memorial. They posted it recently and it has several photographs that I do not have here. Enjoy and good luck with your book Nick.
Best
Barry

THANKS FOR THE INFO. I WENT BACK TO THE LIB SITE AND WAS UNABLE TO LOCATED THAT PARTICULAR IMAGE. I WAS ABLE TO FIND THE ARCH THOU. IT IS NOT PART OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, BUT IT IS AN EXACT MATCH TO THE ARCH AT ARLINGTON STATE PARK.

Hi Nick: You have good eyes. The building shown and identified as the Lincoln Memorial in 1916 is in fact the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery. The Library of Congress did indeed mislabel the building. I will remove the photo from this posting but write a quick article on the error. Thanks for catching this. I much appreciate it. By the way, if you’d like to see this image on the LOC website, go to http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/I?ils:373:./temp/~pp_llqT::displayType=1:m856sd=npcc:m856sf=32690:@@@mdb=fsaall,brum,detr,swann,look,gottscho,pan,horyd,genthe,var,cai,cd,hh,yan,lomax,ils,prok,brhc,nclc,matpc,iucpub,tgmi,lamb,hec,krb and you can take a very close look at the details.
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Barry

Hi Nick: Please don’t fret for another moment. I’m a firm believer in presenting history as correctly as possible and as far as I’m concerned, two sets of eyes are better than one. The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs website is wonderful but some of their labeling is off from time to time. Not to shift blame to them. I take responsibility for not looking closer at the picture before posting it. In any case Nick, you caught the error and now any students or researchers who use my site to read about the building of the Lincoln Memorial, and now the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater, will get the correct info thanks to you. I’m not upset at all. I’m grateful. Thank you very much for doing me this favor.
PS. You’ll have to tell us about the book you are writing.
Have a great day Nick.
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Barry

Hi Rudy: Thanks for writing. I have come across several photos of Henry Bacon taken during the construction of the Memorial however I have not seen any photos of him from the ceremony itself. Unfortunately, I have not have information on Henry Bacon’s attendance at the ceremony.
What I do know is that Bacon was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on year later (May 17, 1923) to receive the American Institute of Architects’s Gold Medal award presented to him by President Warren Harding. Less than a year later, Henry Bacon passed away from cancer (February 17, 1924). The Lincoln Memorial was his last building project.
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Barry

I had been looking for pictures of my Great Great Great Uncle Edwin Markham. I had heard that he was at the Dedication. I was thrilled to see his picture. It makes me feel that my family was a part of History.

Hi Patty: Thank you for writing. Yes it is exciting when a family member was part of history and your GGG Uncle was well known back then. For those who do not know about Mr. Edwin Markham, he was a poet. At the Lincoln Memorial Dedication on May 30, 1922 Edwin Markham read a revised version of his poem ”Lincoln the Man of the People”. He shared the podium with the likes of President Warren Harding, ex-President William Howard Taft and Vice President Calvin Coolidge. Also on the podium was Robert Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s sole surviving son. It was an amazing day in history and you should be proud that your GGG Uncle was there to be a part of it.
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Barry

Hi Barry. This is a very nice site.
Last year I donated a set of four panorama photographs of the May 30, 1922 Dedication to the Library of Congress.
The Bell Loudspeaker was used to project the sound of the ceremony to the large crowd on the Mall, and this was a set of pictures taken for the Bell sound team to show the mass of people who could hear this event. Like many panorama photographs, these pictures are wonderful in their expansive lateral vision.
Anyway, when (or if) the Library of Congress digitalizes these images they would be a great link to your site.

Hi David: That is so wonderful to hear. I am a huge fan of historical photography and images taken of that event on that historic day would be terrific to see. I look forward to seeing them when they are released by the LOC. I remember when I first wrote the article about the Lincoln Memorial, I noticed the large loudspeakers and wondered about their make and how they worked.

Thank you again for your donation and the information that you’ve shared here.
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Barry

My grandfather, Leslie Crane, was a draftsman at the Proctor, Vermont Marble Co and family history has it that he designed the machinery that created the columns for the Lincoln Memorial. However, I see that the marble used was Georgian. What say you??
Any info on such background?

Hi Esther: Thanks so much for writing. I love hearing from family members of people who might have been involved in history, even if it was in an indirect way. It shows the pride people have in what they did during their lives.
Regrettably I’m not an expert on this but I can tell you what I have learned in a very brief search through the web on this subject.
To start, it seems that only two types of marble were used on the Lincoln Memorial: The marble for the exterior was Colorado Yule Marble. It was supplied by the Yule Marble Company who won the contract for the project. The only other marble used was Georgian Marble used exclusively to carve the statue of Abraham Lincoln. In this excellent report from the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (http://pubs.usgs.gov/pdf/bulletin/b2162/b2162.pdf) a great history of the project with respect to the Yule Marble Company and their production is covered.
The report does mention that all of the marble pieces came from Colorado and were completed prior to shipping.
I could not find any reference to the machinery that your grandfather may have created. However, on the following blog site, there are some wonderful photos of the column pieces being produced for the Lincoln Memorial and the machinery used to create them. http://ronbaileyphotography.wordpress.com/birthplace-of-the-lincoln-memorial/
I did find out that Vermont Marble were contracted to make the columns for the Supreme Court building so potentially it was this, or another similar project that your grandfather created the machinery for. On the other hand, if someone can find out when the equipment was made, perhaps it was purchased and used by other companies in the industry.
I hope this has helped your search.
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Barry

Further probing into Georgia Marble Co history shows that Henry C. Clement (Rutland, Vt) was the first president of that company who invested 1 Million $ into the start-up. He lived up the road from my family homestead and I was acquainted with his grand-daughter Elizabeth (Libby) Clement in the late 30’s.

I stumbled onto your site quite by accident and I’m very glad I did! The pictures are wonderful. I have a program for the dedication ceremony and was able to see that Robert Lincoln had one under his arm in one of your pictures. Inside my program was a program for the presentation of the gold medal to Henry Bacon the following year. Again, I’m so glad I found your site!

Hi Roani: Thank you for writing. I’m so glad that my article was able to assist you in finding more info about the program. It’s always a pleasure knowing an article has been able to assist someone. I really appreciate that you let me know. It means a lot.
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Barry

Hi Jerelyne: Thank you very much for your query. That is a very good question. I have not seen that photo before but now am quite interested in trying to track it down. With tens of thousands in attendance that day, I’d like to find out more about that subject. Is this research that you are doing right now or writing a school paper? Please contact me at outreach@awesometalks.com. I’d like to hear more.
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Barry

Hi Kathy: I apologize for taking so long to post your comment. I was on vacation last week and have just returned today. I am not sure which buildings you are referring to. Can you send me a photo of the ones you are referring to or direct me to them somewhere. Please email me at outreach@awesometalks.com.
I’ll be happy to look into it for you.
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Barry

Hi Scott: That is a great question. I don’t honestly know the answer to this but can give you a pretty good guess that it probably does not exist.
The recording of filmed events was in its infancy in the early 20’s. Movietone News began shooting ‘news events’ in 1927 (the first being Charles Lindburgh crossing of the Atlantic). It was shown in movie houses beginning in 1928. My guess is that the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial occurred just a few years too early in the 20s and missed the opportunity to be recorded on film. However, if you want to see more of the photographs taken of the event, go to the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs website and you can see some there.
One place you could check to see if film exists however, is the National Park Service. Try inquiring with them. You never know what they may have in their vaults.
Thanks for the great comment.
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Barry

Hi Scott. I have an afterthought regarding Robert Lincoln footage. I can’t remember for sure, but I seem to recall seeing either photographs or film of Robert Lincoln on a golf course. I can’t swear to it but you might try to see if you can find that using that reference. Please let me know what you find out.
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Barry

Thank you for the information. I had previously viewed some “moving picutre” coverage of the dedication ceremony on a link to the Library of Congress. The clip they show does not have RTL in it. I will continue my search. Thanks again.

On Thursday, December 2, 2010 at '3:24 pm' awesometalks said:

Hi Scott: Thanks for the great information. Can you share the link to that clip. I’d love to see it myself.
Many thanks and good luck with your search.
Barry

Good find Scott. Thanks for sharing it here. The film shows President Warren Harding, ex-President and current Chief Justice William Howard Taft, and Vice President Calvin Coolidge (not speaking). Also shown is poet Edwin Markham reciting his poem “Lincoln the Man of the People”. It is such a shame that the fixed camera position was not positioned just slightly more to the right as Robert Lincoln would have been visible. The only hope that he is in this footage would be right at the very end when the dignitaries are mingling about after the ceremonies. It’s worth looking closely at those in the background to see if Mr. Lincoln is among them.
Thanks again Scott for sharing this link.
Barry

Absent from the commentary is the reference to the segregated audience during the May, 1922 dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. A photograph of the scene of segregated audience exists, but I am unable to locate it.

Hi Jerelyne: I believe you wrote me a couple of years ago looking for this photo. Tell me what you know about he event that day and the segregated audience. Are you related or know anyone who was there that day who experienced it. Segregation was still ‘alive and well’ in the 1920s so I do not doubt for a second that this did not happen. I am not a specialist on that particular event so i can’t talk to it as an expert, but I do want to learn from it. Please share with us what you’ve learned about that day and the subject you’ve mentioned. It is a really good historical story to tell.
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Barry

I am rather late in responding to your wonderful article on the Lincoln Memorial. My grandfather, Ernest C. Bairstow, did the carving on the memorial, both on the attic wall and frieze on the outside, and the speeches on the inside of the memorial. He lived with my family and did not die until I was 22 years old, so I knew him well. I just finished writing a book about him. He is rarely given credit for all that he did on the memorial, so I was delighted to see what you had written. I have been trying to get the NPS to give him credit at the Memorial. He is briefly referred to in the pamphlet but not at all in the visitors center.

Barry- I have owned for more than 40 years, an original draftsman’s design of the Gettysburg Address for the Lincoln Memorial. I acquired the piece when I was an Army Officer assigned to Walter Reed Institute of Research. The provenance is solid. I took the design (which I have scanned, and can post as a low-res file. if you wish) to the National Archives shortly after I realized that it matched the wall design of the memorial. With their assistance, we located two other original versions, virtually identical to mine, varying only by a hyphenation location, and the position of the eagle images (direction the stylized eagles are facing).
We concluded that my document was the second version of the three.
(All three were obviously original designs, on heavy rag, with pen marks on the margins, where the designer (Mr Bairstow, I assume) had repeatedly cleaned his pen.)

As we celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the delivery of the Gettysburg Address (and approach the centennial of the creation of this draft for the wall of the memorial, I think that it might be a good time to have the document evaluated. Any suggestions?

Hello Dr. Martin. That is fascinating. I have kept an ongoing correspondence with the granddaughter of Ernest Bairstow since I wrote this piece. She has shared several wonderful stories about her grandfather’s experiences while working on the Lincoln Memorial. The one I relate most often is what Mr. Bairstow’s worst fear was. He was so concerned that he would accidently chip the marble while carving all those letters by hand, thus ruining the work. Now that is pressure. But he never did and it came out as you see it today.
I’d be happy to see what I can do to put you in touch with someone who might be able to assist you with the documentation assessment. Please write me at outreach@awesometalks.com and we can go from there. And if you can, please send me a copy of the document. I’d like to see it.
I look forward to speaking with you shortly.
Best
Barry.

I tried emailing you, but my emails keep getting bounced back. The pictures that you have here are absolutely great. I recognize a lot of them being LOC, but there are a couple of photographs which I have not seen before and I am wondering if you might be able to point me in the right direction of where I can find them?

Can you email me whenever you get a moment, or let me know the email address to reach you at?